It’s a small gesture, but gestures matter at the hallowed grave site of so many murdered innocent Americans.

Barack Obama flings a memorial rose at Ground Zero like he’s a kid tossing pennies into a fountain at the shopping mall — or a spectator tossing flowers at a bullfight.

He doesn’t know what he’s doing.

(Clueless NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg copies him.)

By contrast, John McCain and his wife kneel and gently, somberly, place their roses down at the foot of the 9/11 tribute.

Tons of you e-mailed me about this. Here’s the vid for the rest of you who didn’t see it. It’s a telling cultural and generational distinction between these two men vying to be commander-in-chief of our nation:

Here’s another angle (you can see Bloomberg’s toss in this one):

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Reader Joe W. also notices: “The first 30 seconds showed that Obama could not take the time to shake hands with the uniformed firemen (John McCain took the time) nor the construction worker with the American flag hardhat…He was painfully uncomfortable at this ceremony!”

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Some readers are complaining about Joe W.’s comments, interpreting it to mean that Obama didn’t shake any firefighters’ hands. I think he simply meant the ones standing that line. Obama shook plenty of hands during the rest of the ceremony.

Commenter Mookie: “The video showing that he spent time with the uniformed fireman and the construction worker has been posted numerous times. That’s what people are objecting to, not the notion that he didn’t shake any hands at all.”

Noted.